Bishop Stephen Nyodho, the Bishop of Malakal Catholic Diocese - COURTESY

Religious leaders in Upper Nile State have jointly called on the transitional government to take proactive measures to restore security and stability amid violence and tension in some counties.

The cleric made the plea following recent incidents of deadly violence in Nasir County between SSPDF troops and local armed youth known as White Army opposed to a contingent of government forces replacing their colleagues in the area.

In a joint statement, the clerics have called for peaceful coexistence as a core position of the Church of Malakal, amidst ongoing reports of a crisis in the Sobat River counties.

The clergymen urge the citizens to remain calm and peacefully coexist as brothers and sisters in Malakal town and beyond.

Stephen Nyodho, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Malakal, said about 20 church leaders from different denominations in Malakal town and PoC attended the meeting chaired by him and Simon Ador Thon, of the national council of churches.

Bishop Nyodho said the church convened a crucial meeting, organized by the South Sudan Council of Churches Regional Office in Malakal, on the state’s security situation.

According to him, the meeting seeks to leverage the Church’s approach and role in addressing the ongoing panic and fear among citizens in Malakal and Baliet, as well as violence in neighboring Ulang and Nasir.

“As the church, we have been following the situation keenly and we have known that something may spill be out of control. But our main concern was the security of the citizens and also the general security of the country. So, that is why we could not keep quiet,” he said.

“We came out with the points that you might have seen because before that, there was a lot of panic in the town. We call for calm and also to see social coexistence of the different communities should not be compromised.”

The church leaders have agreed to visit Ulang and Nasir through the help of the government, UNMISS Civil Affairs office, and other UN agencies in the Upper Nile state for peace dissemination.

However, they called upon the state government to continue providing security and protect the properties of the citizens in Upper Nile State.

“The main concern also is to allow the government to take precautions with regard to the security of the whole state. So we came out as the church leaders to see to that things should not go out of hand and then we pray that peace should progress always.”

Other resolutions of the church leaders are to meet and engage the traditional leaders in Malakal to actively play their role in social co-existence and harmony among the people in the state.

They also called upon the citizens of Upper Nile to respect the laws of the State and amicably seek peaceful means to resolve their grievances.